"A Gospel Without Repentance Is a Lie"
There is a false gospel being preached today—a powerless message that strips the cross of its meaning and leads countless souls to hell. It’s a gospel that removes repentance of sins, and it's spreading like wildfire. But the true Gospel of Jesus Christ has never changed.
From the beginning, John the Baptist preached repentance. Jesus preached repentance. The apostles preached repentance. Yet today, many are taught that merely believing in Jesus is enough. This cheapened version of salvation ignores the very foundation of the Gospel: conviction of sin, godly sorrow, and turning away from unrighteousness. The Gospel is the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. True salvation begins when a person sees their sin for what it is—wretchedness, rebellion, and a violation against a holy God. That person acknowledges their need for a Savior, places their faith in Jesus Christ alone, and is born again by the Spirit of God.
When someone truly encounters Jesus, their desires change. They begin to hate their sin and are filled with a longing to obey Christ. They no longer pursue sin but pursue righteousness. Their heart turns from darkness to light, and they live a lifestyle of continual repentance. No one who truly knows Jesus can go on practicing sin. Jesus said, “If anyone wants to follow Me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross daily, and follow Me.” The evidence of salvation is not a one-time prayer—it’s a transformed life that produces fruit in keeping with repentance.
Many people profess Christ but live lives full of unrepentant evil. They may attend church, quote Scripture, and claim grace, but their lives bear no fruit of righteousness. Jesus warned us, “You shall know them by their fruit.” True believers hate sin, obey God out of love, and bear the fruit of the Spirit—gentleness, love, patience, humility. The Bible says, “No one born of God makes a practice of sin,” because the Holy Spirit lives in them, steering them away from darkness. The belief that someone can live like the devil but claim Christ because they “believe in the Gospel facts” is a lie from hell. Even demons believe—and tremble.
There are many today—religious narcissists, abusers, and evildoers—who claim Jesus but live in rebellion and cruelty. They reject the conviction of the Holy Spirit and eventually have their consciences seared. God gives them over to their desires. They become reprobate, unable and unwilling to repent. Just as in the days of Noah, God will not contend with evil forever. A day of judgment is coming when the wheat will be separated from the tares.
To follow Jesus is not to live your “best life now.” Christianity is not about worldly prosperity but about dying to self, enduring suffering, and becoming more like Christ. The refiner’s fire purifies us, burns away our sin, and sanctifies us through trials. Paul said, “We must share in Christ’s suffering if we hope to share in His glory.” The abundant life Jesus promised is spiritual abundance—peace, joy, and love—not financial gain or worldly ease.
God is merciful, loving, and patient—giving all a chance to repent. But many continually reject His mercy and choose evil. They give Satan a legal right to enslave them, and eventually, they become tools of darkness. God will give them over to strong delusion, and they will be blinded by deception. Hell is not a place where people go because God is cruel—it’s where sin is fully expressed forever. Those who refused to repent will remember every opportunity they had to turn to God. No one will ever be able to say God wasn’t merciful.
The parable of the sower reminds us that not all who hear the Gospel will be transformed. Some receive it joyfully but fall away. Some are choked out by the cares of this world. Only the seed that lands on fertile soil—soft hearts—bear fruit. And let us not forget: “Faith without works is dead.” These works are not for salvation but evidence of salvation. Let no one fool you that they have put their faith in Jesus but continue to treat you harshly and abuse you. Abusers do not know Jesus. It is not possible to be filled with the Holy Spirit and willfully destroy others created in God’s image. They are not born again. They belong to their father, the devil. The Bible describes these people in 2 Timothy 3 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”
God is an all-consuming fire. To know Him is to fear Him—not in terror, but in reverent awe that compels us to walk in holiness. As believers, we grieve our sin and long to be free from it. We are being sanctified day by day and look forward to the day we are free from this body of death. We begin to hate what God hates, love what God loves, and reflect His character as we are transformed from glory to glory.
Judas walked with Jesus, but his heart was never changed. He had proximity to Christ but never experienced godly repentance which leads to salvation.
Let that not be us. Let us be found faithful, bearing fruit, walking in obedience, and surrendered to the King. Lastly, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” —2 Corinthians 13:5. Do you see your spiritual condition in the Beautitudes that describe the true believer?
